What Car Did You Drive Before Your Prius?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 22 2007, 10:35 AM) [snapback]528892[/snapback]</div>

Don´t say that!!! Please don´t!!!!

Not yet!!!

I have had my prius for only 3 weeks now...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John CCP @ Oct 22 2007, 02:04 PM) [snapback]528922[/snapback]</div>

 

Originally I bought the Prius to replace my 90 Buick Reatta, but then found out how uncomfortable it is for a tall person so I let my wife drive it and got rid of a 2001 Maxima which kept on getting a "Check Engine" light. I tend to buy cars that are not run of the mill. Over a 40 year period I have owned Two beetles, three Corvairs, a 66 Toronado, a 79 Olds Diesel, a 47 Lincoln V12, a kit car that I never finished, and a Studebaker Hawk. Present garage houses my Prius, two Buick Reattas one a coupe the other a convt. and a 1940 Pontiac.

 

My 2005 Prius replaced a 2002 Honda Civic Si (Canadian SiR). Was getting 25 mpg.

What was almost the same ?

- Roomy interior
- Sitting height
- Rear luggage space (convenient hatchback)

What did I give up?
- Better front seat support.
- Sportier handling (of course it was an Si)
- A tad better sound system
- Manual transmission

What did I get?
- 50% better MPG and cleaner emissions
- Pretty good handling for that type of car
- two more doors for my future family
- better view of blind spots (a lot safer than my previous car)
- Cool gadgets like MFD and the fact that everything is controlled from the steering wheel
- Quieter, softer ride overall

Love my Prius! (my wife also, although at first she did not like the rear of the car)

 

Well I drove and still sort of drive a 95 Chevy Lumina Van, it's my business' vehicle...

I guess this is where the story get's interesting...

The lumina blows a transmission casing. So we thought the company should get a replacement, instead of having all it's eggs in one basket. The Luminia was stored for a few months and the company acquired a 95 Dodge Caravan. It was a VERY nice van with only 120,000 km on it... (75k miles). But as luck will have it, I got into an accident that breached the radiator and my insurance company refused to let me do a buy back. So I got cash instead of a van...

So I got to drive the following vehicle in the insuing months:

1) My then girlfriend's 1998 (99?) Chrysler Cirrus
2) The insurance company's rental: 2008 Pontiac Montana SV6.
3) My mechanic's geriatric Plymouth Voyager... whose radiator leaked about 2 gallons a day...
4) My brother's 1999 Honda Civic...
5) My Dad's 1997 Ford Escort Wagon
6) My Mom's 1993 Isuzu Rodeo
7) My friend's 1983 Ford Taurus Wagon
8) My friend's rental Hyundai Elantra(?), needed to get my friend's Taurus when it broke down...

9 & 10) Plus the Lumina and the Caravan...

That makes ten cars I have driven not counting test drives.

11, 12, 13, 14 and 15) I test drove a 1998 Pontiac Montana, 2 caravans/voyagers and a 1994 Transport when I was still considering replacing the company caravan...

16) & 17) Then we decided to fix the Lumina and I decided that I don't need a van any more and test drove two Prii, I bought the second one.

That's 17 cars this year I have driven with only two rentals in the fray...

I know, it's not exactly the answer the question was asking for...

I guess the answer should have been 1995 Lumina APV and a 1995 Dodge Caravan.

The Lumina uses 13 litres/100km average. The Caravan being so under used was 11 literes/100km. Both a far cry from the Prius at 4.9 litres/100km...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Husker4theSpurs @ Oct 10 2007, 03:00 PM) [snapback]523729[/snapback]</div>

 

2003 Honda Civic Hybrid

 

We took delivery of our `08 Package 6 Touring on October 16. Previously I have owned Audi's, Porsche's, Volkswagons and Toyotas, in addition to a variety of American and Italian marks. We currently own a VW Touareg V8 with air suspension and all of the options and a Porsche Boxster S. We are thoroughly impressed by the Prius. It is relatively well-planted, roomy and quite comfortable. For an inexpensive car (28k delivered), the Prius reflects build quality. We were attracted by the technology - not the environmental hysterics that seem to plague the public discourse. This is a great little car. And if it lives up to its reputation for quality, we will be pleased. Does it measure up to the Porsche or the VW in driving prowess? Not close. But, it doesn't have to; it is not that kind of car. It's attractive smile has caused us to name ours: Howdy Doody. Howdy is a keeper.

 

I sold my Toyota Tacoma to my son. Bought the Prius with the dough. Use it for commuting and errands.
Still keeping my baby in the garage. 2004 BMW M3. She comes out to play when its nice out.

 

My very last car was a Subaru Legacy, 1995, with about 140,000 miles on it when it finally died. Radiator cracked, and I didn't feel like pouring any more money into it. It barely got 20 mpg, even being a tiny 4-banger. I got better mileage in my previous Jeep Grand Cherokee which died around 120,000 miles. The Subaru was totally gutless as far as performance. The Jeep was pretty strong, with a big 4L inline-6 engine, but, I think the Prius probably beats both of them. It's just not as simple to work on as the Jeep though, heh. That Jeep, if you had a screwdriver, and vise-grip pliers, and maybe a socket set, you could fix *ANYTHING* on that vehicle. It was so simple. That's a Jeep baby. But I still would never trade my Prius for another Jeep. No way!

 

What car did you drive prior to your Prius?
White 1990 Toyota Camry 2 litre wagon with 277,000km on the clock.

Do you miss things about your old car?
I miss that it was old and a bit grotty so I could carry dirty things in it without worrying too much about damaging it. I could tow with it, no towing with Prius in Australia. Big comfy seats.

Do you have other cars in your family?
My wife has a green 1996 2 door RAV4 2 litre automatic with 170,000km on it, I have a torquoise 1968 2.3 litre 6 cylinder manual Toyota Crown 4 door sedan and a blue 2006 Hyosung GV650 cruiser style motorbike.

How do they compare?
Hum, tough question, like chalk and cheese is the short answer. The Prius uses less fuel than the 650 motorbike and the bike uses about half the fuel the Camry did. The RAV4 and the Crown have worse handling, than the Prius but the Camry was almost as good as the Prius.
I was looking for a replacement for the Camry but the current range of Toyota cars didn't include a car the size of the Camry wagon amd I love the size of the wagon, it was pretty nimble and economical. I could also sleep in it if I went on a trip. I didn't consider the Prius because it was too expensive, then I found 3 I could afford! Always loved the idea of the Prius since I first heard of them, I went for a ride in a series 1 (in Australia) back in 2003 at work. (we had 2 at work) However I really wanted a wagon not a sedan. The Prius came very close to the wagon I wanted and startling economy was a bonus. I could have bought a new Echo for the same money but I'm glad I got a Prius second hand.

 

1995 Volvo 850 SportWagon.

It's still running and in the family.

 

'99 Honda Civic Coupe, previous owner had it lowered and suped up averaging about 26-30 mpg. Got tired of the lowereness on many new "steroid" speedbumps and age of car.

 

2006 Red Dodge Charger (with puny 3.5L engine). It's now my wife's car. I've been keeping a spreadsheet for my mileage with the Prius and estimate that I've saved ~$1,100 in fuel costs during my 9 months of Prius ownership!

 

2000 F250 Powerstroke Diesel pickup truck. 18 - 22 mpg. I kept this vehicle for towing the camper and pulling the m/c trailer.

My daily driver is the 2008 Prius.

Dbcassidy

 

A '94 GMC Yukon w/ 93K miles. Needed, 4 tires, transmission and A/C service, body and paint work, driver's seat recover, front end alignment. Cost more to fix than its worth. Sold it to gardener for $1. He was thrilled, and so am I.
Got 14 mpg. Now w/ Prius over 40mpg without trying hard.

Yipeee ! :deadhorse:

 

What car did you drive prior to your Prius?
I had a Renault Laguna 2, Corolla, a Yaris (aka Echo) and an Avensis T3x model with all the trimmings.

Do you miss things about your old car?
The Renault Laguna 2 (model: Privelege) had full voice announcement.. eg: "Warning, front left tire.. check the pressure" and a card slot ignition system with heated folding mirrors etc.
I miss the large repair bills every other month... :-( lol

Carolla - never got on with it.. hated the fact that is auto revved the engine when changing gears. Toyota said it's an "emmissions thing".

Yaris - better on fuel economy.. but too small. Loved the digital dashboard!

Avensis - half leather seats, folding mirrrors again 2.0 Deisel D-4D engine. Quick and thirsty!

Do you have other cars in your family?
Yes, Fiat Punto sx 1.2L petrol engine, very fun to drive. Small car, hilarious handling in the wet.. goes from understeer to oversteer in a nanosecond! Ideal for scaring passengers! The only car you can power slide with front wheel drive!

How do they compare?
They don't compare at all.. The Prius is a world apart from any other car I've owned.
The little 1.2L punto gets 38mpg the Avensis deisel only got about 38mpg too..45mpg on a long run.

The Prius knocks the socks off it, both in build quality and easy of use.

Some say the Punto handles better... ;-)

 

Before the Prius.........
Well my wife's and my fleet consist of:
2000 Jeep Cherokee Postal (right hand steering)
1998 Subaru Legacy Postal(right hand steering)
1996 Indy Ram Pickup
1973 Thunderbird
1966 Thunderbird
1967 Corvair 2dr
1965 Corvair Convertible
1962 Corvair Convertible
1963 Corvair Greenbrier Van
1966 Dodge Coronet 500 Convertible
1967 Dodge Coronet 500 Convertible

We did get rid of a 92 Dodge Dakota 4x4
And have an 86 AMC Eagle Wagon as a project

 

Sold 1988 Mazda RX7 to buy Prius. RX7 had great cornering and acceleration. As the roads in our town get worse every year, the sports suspension of the RX7 was getting to harsh for me. I miss the sun roof, I don't miss the 14-18mpg when I drove it conservatively (boring). The Prius is actually quite fun to drive with all of the technology bells and whistles, I like the MP3 radio a lot . We also have a 2001 Maxima, has a little more room and luxury, but about 1/2 the mpg.

 

The Prius is technically mine so:

1984 - 1990: 1984 Chevy Cavalier (new)...first car, college, grad school, marriage...I miss the floor well vents (did it have them) 105,000 trade

1990 - 1997: 1989 Honda Accord coupe (9K miles)...miss the low-slung feeling of it, don't miss the nagging vacuum problems in it's later years...162,000 sold (to my inlaws, still sitting in their driveway)

1997 - 2008: 1996 VW Passat TDI wagon (14K miles)...loved the MPG, range, interior room, 5 speed, road feel...was starting to feel its age, sold to a fellow VW diesel nut @ 284,000 miles

Greg